Rory Weightman

Getting dressed in the morning seems like something we do without thinking (though for some it takes longer than others to think and plan for this activity!). We often give a lot of thought to clothes and our external appearance, but not much thought to who we are in Christ and how we must ‘clothe ourselves’ in and with Him. In this message Rory Weightman digs deeper into Colossians 3:1-4:1 and explores who we are in Christ and urges us to consider who we are on the inside, not so much what we look like on the outside.

After speaking about the blessing of being poor in spirit, being broken over our own sin, the importance of meekness, the need to hunger and thirst for righteousness, the blessing that comes to those who know and give out mercy and the need for a pure, undivided heart, in Matthew 5:9, Jesus then spoke of the blessing that belongs to those who make peace. While peace is often understood as the absence of war, it has a much deeper meaning in Scripture. Jesus was known as the ‘Prince of Peace’ and by his death and resurrection he made reconciled God’s people to God – bringing them into a relationship with Him. As those who know this peace, the followers of Jesus are called to be peace-makers by encouraging all to find peace with God through the gospel.

As one of the Psalms of King David, Psalm 139 relates how David knew that God knew so much about him! This intimate knowledge of God is so vast that He even saw knew David in his mother’s womb. Because of this David knew that he could never leave God’s presence. In this message, Rory Weightman reminds us that in the midst of such wonderful truths, David also knew that that God is holy and must punish the wicked. The Psalm ends as we might not expect, yet gives the assurance that believers are safe with God and will never be abandoned by Him.

Rory Weightman spoke on Romans 6:1-14. After chapter 5 tells us that God’s grace is greater than our sin, chapter 6 starts with the question, “are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” The answer is no: we died to sin through Jesus’ death; we are freed from sin; we are alive in Christ and so we should not continue in sin! Rather than be mastered by sin, we trust in Jesus as our master.

Rory Weightman spoke from John 1:29-34 about the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John the Baptist gets our attention (“Behold!”) and uses the imagery of the Old Testament to tell us about Jesus. God provided a lamb to be a substitute payment for sin, to buy back an unfaithful people. Proven to be of God by the Spirit, Jesus willingly gave himself once and for all. He showed power over sin and death by rising again. As we read later in John 3:16, this promise is for whoever believes.